Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 16 November, the UzVC National Venture Fund held the first conference dedicated to the launch of the UzVC Startup Growth Program (SGP).

The launch is organized by the joint project of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction and UNDP in Uzbekistan “Empowering Youth to Master the Digital Economy and Digital Entrepreneurship”, AKS Services Group in partnership with the National Administration for Innovation and Technology Transfer, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the Agency for Youth Affairs and INNO Technopark.

Just as children are essential to a dynamic society, nascent companies, i.e. start-ups, are also essential to a thriving economy. That is why the UzVC National Venture Fund has launched a new individual UzVC Startup Growth Program (SGP) for local startups in Uzbekistan. The program is implemented with government support to provide world-class experience to Uzbek startups in their quest to grow and enter foreign markets. The SGP covers key issues such as go-to-market and fund-raising strategies that are needed to grow and enter markets outside of Uzbekistan.

The event was opened with a welcoming speech by the Director General of the National Venture Fund UzVC Dilshod Khashimov, as well as the Senior Advisor of this fund Alisher Shaykhov.

At the first SGP conference, nominated startups, as well as a wider audience including politicians, embassies, NGOs and university students, were trained on how to help Uzbek startups and the venture capital ecosystem take the leap to the global stage.

In particular, special speakers, Sukna Ventures General Partner Asher Siddeuk and Diaspora Ventures Partner Marvin Liao, shared stories and insights about entrepreneurship in general and how to manage startups internationally.

Also at the conference were such speakers and participants of the panel discussion as the Manager for the Development of Digital Entrepreneurship and Digital Skills of the UNDP Project “Empowering Youth to Master the Digital Economy and Digital Entrepreneurship” Usmon Rakhimjanov, CEO and Founder of Express24 Akmal Paiziev, Investment Director of I2BF Global Ventures Denis Kalyshkin, as well as a partner of Pulsar.vc. Adrian Henny (France), the press service of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry reports.